Hand on my heart
by Two Girls One Account
Summary: Soulmate AU where when you first touch your soulmate, you leave a gold hand print behind. Clary's been waiting her whole life to find her soulmate. Could this trip to Magnus' lakehouse to meet his boyfriend's family be her chance to find true love? (probably not.)


**We promise we've been working on other multi chapter fics to upload. This just isn't one of them. Here's a surprise 6k one shot that took us a whole weekend to write and surprised us as much as it will you.**

Hand on my Heart

"What's wrong with green?" Clary demanded, sounding slightly offended.

Maia shrugged. "I don't want my bridesmaids to look like Fiona."

Magnus and Maia high fived, which caused Magnus to slightly swerve the car and nearly kill them. Ah, the lovely feeling of being on vacation.

The leaves were turning orange, as they usually do in October. Though the sun was still shining, and there was still some warmth in the air. Reading week was the best time to head up to Montauk, since no one else would be crazy enough to go to the beach in October.

"I still can't believe you two are soulmates," Clary said wistfully, admiring Simon's handprint, gold and shining on his left bicep.

Simon smiled, looking down at it. "Did we tell you how it happened?"

"Yes," Magnus and Clary said in unison, already rolling their eyes.

"We were at a party," Maia started, looking off to the side as though in flashback, and Clary mouthed along. "He was with someone, and I was with someone, and we had been friends for a while, but we had never touched. We had kept our feelings silent for so long, afraid to make them known." Maia and Clary dramatically stroked their cheeks at the exact same time. "Then, at the party, when my hand touched his arm, and his fingers grazed my neck…"

"I was aiming for her shoulder," Simon mumbled.

"We knew that it was destiny!" Maia and Clary and Simon and Magnus all exclaimed at the same time. Magnus, who had only known them for a few months knew the story as well as any of them did.

Maia leaned back in her chair, out of breath and coming down from her theatrical orgasm, looking only partly bitter that everyone had ruined her finale.

"Anyway, coming back from our commercial break," Clary continued, "I just can't believe you guys actually found your soulmates. It's so rare. Only one in a million people actually find their soulmates. From the age of 16 you're able to find the person that the universe literally built for you. It's just so magical."

Simon rolled his eyes. "Clary, we get it, you have a soulmate boner. Can we move on?" He turned back to Magnus. "So, tell us more about what's happening this weekend."

Magnus smiled, clearly glad that the spotlight was back on him. "So, as you already know, my beau Alexander has invited us to stay at his parent's cottage in the forest—"

"Cabin in the woods."

"And he has invited a few of his friends as well so we can bring our social circles together. There's no pressure for you to become best friends with them, this is only for three days. But if you all don't fall in love with each other immediately I will leave you in the woods to die at the hands of the wolves."

Maia snorted. "Wolves don't have hands."

The rest of the car ride up to Montauk was less conversational. Maia told the story of how she met Simon another two or three times, and they listened to Bohemian Rhapsody enough that they couldn't sing along anymore without sounding like they smoked 6 packs a day.

They finally reached the cabin at 7 o'clock, when the sun was just starting to set over the water, and Clary's stomach grumbled from having not eaten in 2 whole hours.

They got out of the car and started unloading their bags from the trunk. The cottage was huge. Three floor, all old flagstone, with a beautiful wrap around porch and a perfect view of the ocean.

The front door opened, and Magnus ran to hug his beau as the others did the rest of the work unloading the car.

Magnus brought the mysterious Alexander over to introduce them, only for Clary to literally scream.

"Alec?"

"Clary!? Simon? Maia!? Fuck."

Magnus smiled, clearly not picking up on their tone of voice. "Oh my gooooood you guys know each other? This is great! We're already off to an amazing start!" He shoved Clary and Alec together for a very forced and very awkward hug.

Clary patted Alec's back a little too hard and hissed in his ear, "Is she here?"

"Of course she's here," he whispered back.

"Why would you bring her?"

"How was I supposed to know it was you guys coming?"

"How did you _not_ know?"

" _Well you didn't know either_."

They pulled apart, both very tense, and gave each other a very fake smile.

"Aww," Magnus sighed. "I can already feel the love."

Everyone grabbed their bags and headed towards the cottage. Simon and Maia made a point not to make eye contact with Alec, or anyone else for that matter.

Clary couldn't help but admire the house as she walked in. The torchlights that hung on either side of the entrance were lit, giving the stones an eerie orange glow. The inside of the house was even nicer. Old looking wood floors, yet modern and tastefully decorated. The walls had some very lovely and expensive looking art hanging in just the right places. And the carpet… well the carpet was folded at just the right angle for Clary to trip on it.

Clary's foot caught on the corner of the carpet and her bag fell from her hand as her face headed for the floor. She reached out to catch herself and gripped the first thing in front of her, which happened to be a stranger's ass.

The handsome stranger turned around and Clary ripped her hands away from his backside. "I'm so sorry," she stammered. "I didn't mean to—"

"It's fine," he smiled. _Damn, his smile…_ "It's just a little ass grab. See?" He reached around and grabbed both her ass cheeks simultaneously. "No big deal."

"Jace, can you please get your hands off of my best friend's ass?."

Clary, taking the opportunity to get this stranger's hands off her ass, pushed away and turned around.

"Sebbie?" She smiled and ran in for a hug. "I can't believe it! It's been so long!"

"Way too long," he agreed, giving her an extra little squeeze before letting her go. He led her back to the tall handsome assgrabber. "I see you've met my brother, Jace."

"Brother?" Clary asked. She had known Sebastian for years. And though they hadn't seen each other in almost a year, this guy looked far from a fresh fetus.

"Step brother," Seb corrected.

The handsome stranger, Jace, stepped forward and took her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he leaned down and kissed her knuckle.

Seb rolled his eyes, pulling Clary's hand away from Jace's mouth. "Back off, Blondie. Clary isn't just another one of your conquests."

Jace chuckled, shaking his head. "I have to get back to the kitchen. I left Isabelle alone in there and we all know what kind of disaster that could be."

Clary laughed nervously and turned back towards Simon and Alec who were nervously conversing on the other side of the large living room. She shuffled over to them, leaving an approaching Maia to talk with Sebastian. "So," she mumbled, after reaching Simon and Alec's small huddle on the other side of the room. "What the hell are we going to do? Does she know you're here?"

Simon's face was already looking very pale. Clary was sure if he could tie weights to his feet and jump into the ocean he would have. "I'm sure Jace is telling her now. I think Maia and I should just leave…"

"Don't you dare," Alec hissed. "Magnus and I are finally in a comfortable place in our relationship and if our social circles can't mix than this relationship won't work. At least that's what he said."

"It's fine," Clary agreed. "We'll figure this out. It's been a year and a half. There's no way she's still angry about this, right?"

The dinner table was silent. The only sounds were the quiet scratching of cutlery on plates as people picked at their food awkwardly.

"Sooooo," Magnus said. "How do you all know each other?"

Clary didn't look up from her plate. "We went to high school together."

"Clary and I have been friends since we were little," Sebastian mumbled.

"Maia and I used to fuck," Jace added.

Clary choked on her drink. Simon laughed.

Magnus turned to Isabelle, and everyone held their breath. "Isabelle, did you go to high school with them too?"

Isabelle looked up from her plate slowly, drawing in a very long breath, and made direct eye contact with Simon. "Yes."

Magnus smiled like he needed to take a fat shit. He straightened his smile and tried to keep the conversation going. "You should hear how Simon proposed to Maia," he said, obviously thinking that would somehow ease the tension. "It was the cutest thing! Simon, tell them. Tell them, Simon. Simon."

Simon turned a very ripe shade of green and shook his head timidly.

"Don't be shy," Magnus chided. He turned back to Isabelle, hoping to bring her into the conversation. "Maia is studying marine biology, right? So Simon got her a goldfish, right? And in the little round bowl he put a little treasure chest, and in the treasure chest… wait for it… was the ring!" He smiled, waiting for Isabelle to react. Her face turned an angry shade of red, but otherwise she didn't move.

"Magnus," Alec mumbled, "please shut up."

Isabelle smiled tensely and looked at Simon. "So, Simon, tell me more about your wedding. What flowers have you chosen? Magnolias? Because you're planning on having a June wedding? Are the colours cream and lavender? Does the venue have a view of the ocean?"

Magnus laughed, which was not at all appropriate for the tone of the room. "Wow, that was pretty close. The wedding is actually May."

"MY BIRTH MONTH?!"

Isabelle screamed savagely, picking up her plate and hurling it at Simon's head. She threw herself across the table, going for the throat, but Alec caught her first, pulling her back and wrapping his arms around her stomach as she kicked and screamed. He tried to stop her from screaming but she almost bit his finger off. He dragged her out of the room towards what Clary could only assume was a dark dungeon.

"Wow," Magnus breathed. "Is it just me or is Alec's sister a huge bitch?"

"What? No, Magnus… I mean, yes, she is, but that's unrelated." Clary leaned forward, lowering her voice. "Simon and Isabelle used to date."

Magnus's eyes widened. "Ooooooooh, shit, yikes."

"Yeah," Jace continued, "and he promised to never break up with her even if they found their soulmates."

"Can _I_ explain it?" Simon hissed. He turned to Magnus. "What Jace said."

"So… you two were broken up when you met Maia?"

Maia laughed unhumourously. "No, they were still dating. She actually introduced us."

Magnus sucked in a breath through his teeth.

"And we found out we were soulmates at an event that they attended together."

"And a lot of people saw."

Magnus looked back towards the doorway that Isabelle had been dragged out of, obviously feeling some sympathy for her now.

"I didn't have a problem with it," Jace said around a mouthful of chicken. "I was happy for you guys.

"Jace," Maia scoffed. "We weren't even dating. You showed up with me and left with another girl."

"Exactly. I've moved on. So should she." Jace high fived himself.

Seb rolled his eyes. "You're a huge tool."

Jace winked at Clary. "I also have a huge tool, if you know what I'm saying."

"Size doesn't matter if you don't know how to use it," Simon muttered.

"Anyway," Seb interjected, desperate to change the subject. "Clary, how was Italy?"

"It was amazing," Clary raved. "Nothing but sun and art and food. So much food..."

Seb smiled, hiding the blush in his cheeks. "I saw your pictures on Instagram. You looked so cute."

"That's because I am so cute." She punched him in the arm playfully. "But I'm glad to be back now. I should have only gone abroad for one semester instead of the whole year."

Seb laughed awkwardly, shifting to the side, not realizing that he sleeve was riding up.

"Is that a tattoo?" Clary asked, her eyes locked on Sebastian's forearm.

He shoved his sleeve down self consciously. "Uh, yeah. It's nothing."

"Don't bother with his boring tattoos," Jace interrupted, and Seb looked more than relieved. Jace rolled up his sleeves to show off his arms, both fully covered in ink.

Clary, having the eye of an artist, spotted the piece on his upper left bicep almost immediately.

"Is that Degas?" she asked, leaning to the side to try to get a better look. Tattooed across the gorgeous muscles of his bicep in black and grey ink was the image of a pointe dancer in the position of second arabesque.

Jace blushed, as though he had forgotten that was there. "Uh, yeah. It's based on my mom's favourite painting. She was really into 19th century art."

"That's so cool," Clary's face lit up. "I bet your mom is so happy you got that."

Jace looked down. "She actually never got the chance to see it."

Simon cleared his throat. "Well, this has been nice, but I think it's time for Maia and I to turn in."

Magnus nodded, following them out. "I should probably find Alec and make sure he's ok."

Jace smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I really know how to clear a room. Anyway, I should probably head to bed too. See you two in the morning."

Clary woke up to the smell of bacon and a growling stomach. With a quick glance to her clock she noticed it was past noon. Perfect time for breakfast, and lunch right after. She skipped down the stairs in her little pyjama shorts and baggy shirt, her hair a mess, and slid into the kitchen. "I smelled bacon."

Sebastian smiled up at her from where he was setting the table for two. Freshly picked flowers in vases were scattered across the room, candles were lit on the table even though it was mid-day. "Good morning," he said, pulling the chair out for her. "I figured you'd sleep in, so I made you breakfast. And as soon as you're done I'll start making you lunch."

Clary smiled, sitting down. "You know me so well." She patted his arm.

Seb tried to ignore the platonicness of the pat and went to sit across from her. He started dishing her a plate with extra eggs, extra bacon, and extra waffles. "How did you sleep?"

"Like a baby," she stretched and yawned, then took a huge mouthful of eggs. "How about you?" she asked, spraying food everywhere.

Seb smiled, trying to hide the dreamy look in his eye as he stared at her. "I slept great."

"Me too," said Jace, walking in in all his shirtless glory. He had obviously just come back from a run. His abs glistened in the light of the candles and the perfect V of his hipbones was like an arrow drawing Clary's eyes straight to his dick, which was outlined nicely in his dark grey sweatpants. Clary couldn't help but admire the sharpness of his jaw, the way his wet hair hung in his eyes, his toned biceps that seemed to ripple with each movement, how his collar bones jutted above his broad pecs….

"Clary, Clary, Clary, Clary, Clary, Clary." Sebastian was snapping his fingers in front of her face repeatedly. He might have been doing that for a couple of minutes. Maybe even a few years. Who knows.

She shook her head, trying to remove herself from the daze. She crossed her legs.

"It's ok," Jace said, winking. "I get that a lot." He put his foot up on one of the empty chairs, lunging in a way that only showed off the thickness of his thighs. "I can remove the pants too, if you'd like."

Sebastian coughed. Or maybe he was choking. "That won't be necessary."

Clary stood suddenly, sure her face was redder than her hair. "I should go. I need to take a shower." She turned. "A freezing cold shower…" She walked past them towards the door, turning only once to get a glimpse of that sweet, sweet ass.

Once Clary was gone, Seb turned to his step brother. "Hey man, I know it's like… your thing to flirt with every girl that breathes, but could you maybe lay off Clary a bit?"

Jace smirked. "What's wrong bro, afraid of a little competition?"

Seb scoffed. "No, that's not the point. Look, I've kind of had a crush on Clary for a while now… and we haven't seen each other in a while, and she's still single after a year of not seeing me so… that must be a sign, right?" He touched his arm self-consciously. "I just want you to give me a fair chance with her, that's all."

Jace looked down, noticing his nervous tick, and nodded. "Yeah, of course. I'll be the best wingman there ever was. Just don't fall in love with me," he winked, stealing the rest of Clary's bacon.

Clary loved canoeing. The best part was when the water was steady, and the boat was still, and you suddenly jerked it to the side to startle the person in the canoe with you.

"Clary, goddammit, you're gonna give me a heart attack."

"Don't worry," Clary laughed. "I'm first aid certified."

"You can't help anyone if you're drown first, Fray."

Clary laughed and rolled her eyes. She's missed hanging out with Seb. It's been hard this past year with Clary living in Italy and not being able to see anyone from back home. She'd only just settled back in in late August. She rocked the boat again. "Don't be so scared, Verlac. If I knew you were afraid of water I would have suggested a different activity."

"I'm not afraid of water," he said a bit too defensively. "I'm afraid of freezing to death."

Clary scoffed. "It's barely October, don't be a baby."

Clary rocked the boat again, this time hard enough to tip it over. Seb's face scrunched in panic as they both tumbled towards the freezing water, which was a lot colder than Clary had anticipated. Maybe Seb wasn't being a baby…

They hit the water with a splosh, Clary's mouth still wide open. She swallowed way more salt water than could ever be digested by a person, she was sure. They both surfaced at nearly the same time, gasping for air and shivering. They looked at each other, and Clary couldn't help but start laughing. Seb laughed too, leaning over and picking a string of seaweed out of her hair. "I told you!" he laughed, splashing her. She dodged the splash and returned one that was much weaker, but still managed to hit him in the eye. The splashing ceased after a while, when they were both too cold and too hysterical in laughter to continue. Sebastian reached for the canoe that was floating just a few feet away and flipped it over. He jumped back into the canoe and helped Clary in. He grabbed an ore and started paddling back to shore before they both got hypothermia.

"Sebastian…" Clary mumbled.

It took him a moment to realize what she was staring at.

He looked down and saw that his sleeve, now soaking wet, had been pushed up while they were in the water. The fabric clung above his elbow, revealing a golden handprint on his fore arm.

He flinched, pulling his sleeve down. "It's nothing," he mumbled.

"What?" She grabbed his hand. "That's _not_ nothing. When did you get that?"

"Doesn't matter," he said, a bit too defensively. He shook his head. "Sorry. We just need to get to shore before one of us gets sick."

Simon and Maia sat on the porch swing together, swaying gently as they watched the ocean and the afternoon sun. Simon's arm was around his fiancée, and they planned the wedding quietly, whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears.

And behind them, standing in the house at the window behind the swing was Isabelle. Her face and hands were pressed against the glass and she sobbed quietly, her tears dripping down the glass like rain.

"Uh," Magnus said, hoping to find a place to sit with his tea and magazine. "Am I interrupting something?"

Isabelle turned from the window, like a Gollum away from it's ring, and hissed. "Yes!"

Magnus nearly dropped his tea. But he set it down, determined to make a good impression on his boyfriend sister. He approached her slowly and patted her on the back. "There there… do you wanna talk about it?"

Isabelle flopped down onto the couch, tears running onto the cushions. "Yes."

"Dammit," Magnus muttered under his breath. He cleared his throat and sat down next to her. "It's ok sweetie, just let it out."

She let out a sob that sounded like a building was collapsing. "You don't even know what happened. All you know is that they're happy and I'm such a _bitch_ for being upset about their happiness."

Magnus nodded.

"I know I should be over this by now but seeing him… it just feels like it did that night all over again."

 _It was the summer of tenth grade when Simon first asked her out. She was still a skinny gawky little teenager with long ratty hair and crooked teeth, and she couldn't believe he liked her. Simon Lewis, the hottest guy in school_ (lol no) _wanted to date_ her _. How could she say no?_

 _It was on New Year's Eve in grade eleven when they first said, 'I love you.' She remembered it perfectly. The Christmas lights were still up and she loved the way the lights reflected in his eyes. They kissed when the clock struck twelve._

 _It was the night of prom when they made love for the first time. They spent the rest of the night eating popcorn and watching movies until they fell asleep in each other's arms._

 _It was on her 18_ _th_ _birthday when he promised her that no matter what happened, he would never leave her. Even if they found their soulmates, they would always stay together._

 _It was on her 19_ _th_ _birthday that she introduced him to her new friend Maia._

 _A few months later, at her parent's charity event that they attended together, Simon and Maia touched for the first time._

 _And that was the beginning of the end._

"He tried to make it work," Isabelle explained. "He really did. But I could tell his heart wasn't mine anymore. He wanted to be with her. And I would never be enough for him."

Magnus wiped an over-dramatic tear from his eye. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

"I'm trying," she sobbed. "I'm trying so hard not to ruin it for them but it's so hard to see him so happy without me."

Magnus patted her on the back. "But you let him go. You did the right thing."

Isabelle sobbed again, wet and loud and angry. "He dumped me!" She fell face first into the couch and another fit of crying began.

Magnus inched away a bit and rubbed her back.

Clary had washed all the ocean water out of her hair and had braided it back into two tight French braids. She sat across from Sebastian, the fire in the sand was crackling a dull orange. She pulled the blanket more tightly around her. "I'm sorry. About before. I didn't mean to upset you."

Seb didn't look up from the fire. He poked it with a stick, sending a shower of sparks into the air. "It's ok. I shouldn't be so sensitive about it anymore."

"Who are they? If you don't mind me asking."

He shook his head. "It's not important."

"Why didn't you tell me?" She tried to catch his eyes, but he still wouldn't look up.

He poked the fire again. "I haven't told anyone. Only two people know. Alec was there when it happened and Jace is my brother, he saw it and he had questions."

Clary still didn't understand. "But... why aren't you telling people? Isn't this a happy thing?"

Seb shook his head again. He finally looked up at her. "Maybe I'll tell you some time."

There was a moment between them where Clary thought she felt something. A glint of something more than friendship…

Something soft flopped down on Clary's lap. A bag of marshmallows. She looked up and saw Jace standing over her, blocking the sun from her eyes.

He plopped down in the sand between her and Seb. "Maia, Simon and Alec are in full wedding planning mode and Magnus and Isabelle are crying together in the living room. Also, I finished my book." He tossed a copy of The Chronicles of Nick onto the sand.

Clary gasped, picking it up. "You like Sherrilyn Kenyon?" _(lol only tru fans will know)_ "Have you read the other Dark Hunters series'?"

Jace scoffed. "No way, aren't there like 38 books or something?"

Clary shrugged. "Basically. Honestly, this series is the best. I wouldn't bother with the others."

Jace nodded. "Well, actually, Sebastian recommended the book to me."

Clary looked at Seb. "Really? I didn't know you were into that kind of stuff."

Seb looked like a deer in headlights, looking between Jace and Clary, then smiled. "Uh… yeah. Are you kidding? Books about…" he picked up the book and glanced at the back… "demons and other supernatural creatures are my jam."

"Oh yeah," Jace said encouragingly. "He loves all that nerdy stuff, like Star Trek…"

"I love Star Trek!"

"And Lord of the Rings…"

"What? Oh my god!"

"And Harry Potter…"

"Seb! Why didn't you tell me you liked all this stuff? We would have had so much more to talk about! What house are you in?"

Seb looked confused, and he pointed to the cottage. "This one?"

Jace coughed, trying to draw the attention back to himself. "He's a Ravenclaw. Or… whatever… it's called. I don't know, I'm too good for that nerdy crap."

Clary rolled her eyes, trying to direct the conversation back to Seb but Jace wouldn't let her. "I'm a Hufflepuff," she said.

Jace giggled. "Of course your are."

She squinted at him. "Do you even know what that means?"

He coughed. "Uh, no. Nope."

Maia came running down the sand towards the group huddled around the fire. "Hey guys, we were planning on going in the hot tub, anyone wanna come?"

"I didn't bring a suit," Clary mumbled, allowing Maia to help her up.

"That's ok," the other girl said. "I brought a couple of options if you wanted to borrow one."

Maia's option consisted of: tits out, vag out, or ass out. Clary went for the most modest option. "I'll take the thong."

"Perfect," Maia cheered. "The green will really bring out your eyes."

She sat down on the bedroom chair, already in her _very_ revealing bikini, as Clary changed.

"So," Maia started. "I saw you talking to that cute blond guy. What's going on there?"

Clary scoffed. "Jace? Please, absolutely nothing."

Maia shook her head. "I know who Jace is. I was talking about the other one. The cute one who's always looking at you."

Clary thought for a moment, then it hit her. "Sebastian? Are you crazy?" She turned towards the mirror to admire herself. "We're just friends. We've been friends for years."

"No way," Maia protested. "I see the way he looks at you. That's not how—WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"

Clary jumped at the sudden exclamation. "What? What?! Is there a bug on me?! GETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFF—"

"Nono, Clary stop." She stood up and grabbed her shoulders to calm her. "Turn around."

Clary turned away from the mirror to face Maia. "What is it?"

Maia took Clary's chin and turned her face gently towards the mirror so she could get a good look at her backside.

"SON OF A—"

Clary rushed out of the room towards the hot tub where everyone was gathered, her hands on her butt cheeks self-consciously.

She faced Jace and said something she had been dreaming about saying all weekend. "Pull down your pants."

Jace chuckled. "What."

"You _heard me,_ Blondie. Pull. Down. Your. Pants."

Everyone had stopped what they were doing at this point, turning to face Clary as they all wondered why this small red head was suddenly in a fit of ass-craving rage.

"Clary," Seb said slowly. "Are you ok?"

Clary was red in the face now. "No, I'm not ok! Now you!" She pointed at Jace again. "PULL DOWN YOUR PANTS AND SHOW ME YOUR ASS NOW!"

" _Why_?" Jace demanded.

Finally, Clary turned around.

"Because of this!"

Everyone gasped as they all got a good long look at Clary's exposed ass with a golden handprint on each cheek.

Jace, looking too choked to argue anymore, pulled down his pants just low enough to expose his right butt cheek.

Clary cringed at the sight of the handprint. "Fuck. Why did it have to be you?" She turned to leave before anyone could see her tears.

Clary locked herself in her room for the rest of the night, too afraid to show her face again until they had to leave the next morning. She had changed out of Maia's skimpy bikini into comfortable sweatpants and a baggy tshirt. She curled up in bed and didn't move for what seemed like hours. Then someone knocked on the door.

"Clary?" Seb called. "Can you let me in? I think we need to talk."

"Go away," she grumbled into her pillow.

"I brought you ice cream."

Clary sighed, lifting herself from the mattress for the first time in hours and walked over to the door. She opened the door for Seb just wide enough for him to slide in. She took the ice cream and spoon from him and shuffled back over to the bed. Seb sat across from her.

"Look, I know you're really upset right now but I really think you should give Jace a chance."

Clary didn't look up. She just kept eating her ice cream.

"Jace is really upset too," Seb continued. "I just don't think you're being fair to him."

Clary slammed her spoon into the carton of ice cream. "Well if Jace cares about me so much, why isn't he here?"

"Because he thinks you hate him."

Clary shook her head and turned back to her ice cream.

"Clary…" Seb pushed up his sleeve, revealing to her once again his gold handprint. "The thing about my soulmate is… I'm not their soulmate."

Clary looked up then, and she suddenly felt like the shittiest person in the words. "What?"

Seb didn't look up. He just stared at the gold on his arm. "It's really rare. Like… one in a billion. But… yeah. When she touched me, my arm turned gold. But when I touched her… nothing."

Clary put the ice cream aside and leaned forward to console her friend. "Does she know?"

He shook his head. "I could never tell her."

Clary wrapped her arms around him and let him lean his head on her shoulder. "Well… maybe if you told her she would want to be with you too. You wouldn't know until you try, right?"

Seb shook his head and pulled away. "This isn't about me. It's about you. The point is I know what it's like to not have your soulmate want to be with you. I just don't think you should leave Jace without even giving him a chance." He rolled down his sleeve.

Clary sighed. "I know, I guess I just thought I would at least have more in common with my soulmate."

"Are you kidding?" Seb chuckled. "All that shit you two were talking about at the bonfire, I don't like any of that stuff. Jace was just being a good bro and talking me up. He likes all of that stuff, not me. I have no idea what a Hoofflepoof is."

Clary laughed and patted his cheek. "Ok. Well I think I'm going to sleep on it for now. Thanks for the ice cream."

Seb kissed her cheek and left, closing the door behind him.

Isabelle sat quietly beside Sebastian as he drove at a painfully average speed. She didn't see why Alec had insisted that they drive back together while the two couples share the other car. She was fine with not seeing Simon, but why couldn't she at least drive back with her brother?

Eventually, Sebastian broke the silence. "You know you can't hold on to this anger forever."

She failed to understand how this was his business. "Is this why Alec wanted us to drive together? So you can tell me to get over it, just like everyone else has been doing for a year and a half?"

"That's not why." He huffed. "He wanted me to talk to you because I understand what you're going through."

She couldn't help but role her eyes. "Look, I know you've been pining after Clary for years, and now she has a soulmate, but you two never dated. She never made promises to you and then broke them like they meant nothing."

"She's my soulmate."

Isabelle laughed. She finally looked at him. "No, she's Jace's soulmate. We've been over this. It just happened like… last night."

Seb exhaled harshly, keeping one hand on the wheel and his eyes on the road. He rolled up his sleeve.

Isabelle gasped, reaching out to brush her fingers against the golden handprint on his arm. "How is that possible?"

"It happened on her 16th birthday," he said. "Once we were both of age, the first time she touched me it appeared. But when I touched her, nothing happened. She's my soulmate, but I'm not hers."

She sat there for a moment, not sure what to say. "Who else knows?"

"Alec, Jace, and now you. Also, my mom."

"Jace knows?"

"Well, I never told him it was Clary, but after this weekend I'm sure he's figured it out."

She shook her head. "Now I feel like an asshole."

"Don't. You're allowed to be upset. I'm just telling you that I understand how upsetting this can be. But Simon is happy with Maia. I'm sure you two were great together, just like I'm sure Clary and I would have been great together, but you can't move on until you let go of all that anger."

"But… Don't you hate Jace for doing that to you?"

He shook his head. "Jace didn't do anything. This isn't his fault. He didn't do it to hurt me, he didn't decide this."

Isabelle slumped back into her seat and crossed her arms like an angsty teenager. "Whatever."

Clary woke up the next morning to a nearly empty cottage and only one car in the driveway.

The only person who remained was her asshole of a soulmate.

"What the hell?" Clary demanded. "I thought I was driving back with Simon and Maia?"

Jace shrugged, taking his suitcase out to the car. Clary stomped after him.

"It was Sebastian's idea," he said, still not looking at Clary.

Clary crossed her arms and pouted. "Fine. But I pick the music."

Turns out, Clary picking the music was fine with Jace, since half of their playlists were identical. She tried not to get too excited when she saw that Jace's playlist included some of her favourites, like AC/DC and Led Zepplin.

Only a couple minutes into the car ride, Jace started talking about himself. Clary was surprised they made it even a few minutes.

"Look," he started. "I know I've been kind of a dick this weekend, but honestly I'm not that bad. Most of the time. I know on the beach I said that I didn't like all that nerdy stuff, but I actually love that shit so much. I'm a Slytherin, by the way."

Clary gasped. " _I'm_ a Slytherin too!"

"But… you said you were a Hufflepuff."

She shook her head. "I just tell people that because I want them to trust me."

Jace laughed. "How very Slytherin of you."

"Thank you."

"Also, it makes sense that you're not a Hufflepuff. You couldn't even find two golden handprints on your own ass."

"Speaking of ass," Clary interjected. "How many people have you slept with?"

Jace nearly choked on his own spit. "What?"

"Well, I know you've slept with Maia. And you're apparently known for your conquests. And if we're soulmates, it seems only fair that I know…"

"Three. My high school girlfriend, Maia, then my college girlfriend."

"You… have a girlfriend?"

Jace chuckled. "Jealous?" He shook his head, still laughing. "No, we broke up a few months ago."

"Well three isn't enough to consider you a manwhore."

"Yeah," he shrugged. "I guess it's kind of a joke with the guys because I'm such a babe magnet. It's the bod."

"It's definitely the bod."

"Anyway," Jace said, glancing at her before returning his eyes to the road. "Let me take you out. We can go out for dinner, get to know each other a bit…"

Clary nodded. "I'm getting lobster and you're paying."

 **Again, we promise we've been working on more multi-chapter fics and they'll be ready to upload soon. And by soon I mean eventually.**

 **xoxo**

 **-R &A**


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